Destiny Keys
by Glacierclaw
Summary: Sora and Kairi's only son, Kyter, has grown up in Traverse Town after somehow being abandoned by his parents. He has no idea that his is now the new Keyblade's chosen one. When he is just fourteen, he is sent to another world called Veeadon...
1. Entering Veeadon

This is my first attempt at a Kingdom Hearts story, so please be nice. Also, keep in mind that I have played KH1 and KH2, but haven't played Chain of Memories. I'm not sure if that'll make any difference, though. And I'm very sure that someone out there has written a fic about Sora and Kairi's children, so if I steal anybody's ideas, I'm really sorry.

Also, if this chapter seemed confusing, **it will all be cleared up in chapters 1-6.** And yes, I already have all of them written out. XD+

With that out of the way, here's the first chapter…

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Sora, Kairi, and any other characters from the game I might mention. I do however, own the people in this story - I took a lot of time drawing them up and giving them personalities and names, and I'd be really disappointed if someone took them. I also own the world Kyter is in, and the plot of this story.

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Destiny Keys

Chapter One – Entering Veeadon

By Glacierclaw

I was only fourteen years old when it happened.

At least, I think it was fourteen. It's been so long ago, I can hardly remember. Something between all those years ago – when I lived in Traverse Town – and now, when I live in a totally different world must have done something to my brain.

My name is Kyter Kiodove. And I am not as normal as I thought I was.

The first weird thing that happened – the first thing that helped make my life change – was at a soccer game one day. I'm really good at soccer, or at least, so I like to think. I mean, yeah, so what – I managed to score a few goals in a single period. And I guess I am the team's star player.

I rammed the side of my foot into the ball, kicking it as hard as I could toward our goal. It was stopped by Evorn, one of my friends, who quickly passed it back to me as I hurried to catch up with him. One of the opposing team members bolted out of nowhere, trying to get the ball out of my control. I passed it to the left as he kicked toward the right, and passed it back to Evorn.

"Come on, Kyter!" he screamed at me.

I nodded, hurrying ahead, panting too hard to say anything. I watched as he turned to kick the ball back at me.

But my eyes trailed past his head, to see a figure, lurking behind a tree behind the spectators. This figure had a large frame and wore a green cloth over his mouth and nose, giving him the impression of a ninja. His scraggly hair covered his eyes, masking out everything else on his face.

I froze when I noticed him – and right when Evorn kicked the ball toward me. It rolled right past – I didn't even notice it.

Evorn stared. "Kyter!" he cried.

I started. "What?"

I looked up just in time to see another one of my teammates kick the ball into the goal. The goalie lunged; hands outstretched, toward it, but instead fell onto the grass. The ball rocketed into the net.

Evorn was too excited to criticize me about how I had stayed put like that – he was jumping up and down, thumping me on the shoulder. I joined in too. Who cared about that person? We had _won!_  
"Nice," I said to the guy – Deilo – who had scored the goal. "That was a really nice shot."

Deilo shrugged. "It wasn't that hard."

I left the field in high spirits. I loved winning. Who didn't love winning?

I paused beside the magnificent fountain in Second District, my bag slung around my shoulder. A low wall surrounded it with lights engraved in it. An emblem of butterflies flying around was right behind it on a stone wall. I stared at it for a few seconds. Something about it gave me reassurance.

I turned toward the stone steps that led up and around to the large wooden door that was the entrance to First District. That was where I lived. My parents – Decria and Nilor Kiodove. My dad – Nilor – worked at the accessory shop and my mom at the hotel. They were both really nice people, and my friends claimed that I had the coolest parents around. I admired both of them.

Surprisingly, my parents both looked nothing like me – they were both tall and blonde, but I was average height for a fourteen-year-old boy. My hair was a reddish-brown that was always messy. I had a sporty build and, obviously, liked to play sports. Around my head was my favorite blue headband. I had had that as long as I could remember. I thought it was very cool, and it matched my blue eyes.

I was starving, I realized, groaning. Right then, I would kill for one of mom's grilled steaks…I walked a little faster, eager to get home.

But as I walked past the shoe shop, I felt someone's eyes watching me. Whipping around, I let out a yell of surprise when I saw that the same guy who had been watching me at the soccer match was right behind me. I gaped at him, wondering what to do. Run?

"You're coming with me," the guy growled through that weird mask covering his mouth and nose. Why did have to wear that, anyway? It was pretty stupid looking.

I swallowed. I was scared. This guy obviously meant to abduct me. Gathering my courage, I shouted, "What if I don't want to?"

Oooh, nice, Kyter, I thought dryly. He'll really back off if you say something like that…

I started when a hand clasped around my shoulder and saw another one of those guys – wearing different clothes and had red, neat hair, but still had the retarded cloth over his face – standing right behind me. His dark eyes leered.

"It doesn't matter," he snapped, his hand tightening so hard that I winced.

I smacked his hand away and ran back down the stones. "Go screw yourselves!" I screamed, and ran for Third District.

I rushed across the pavement, my heart thudding in my chest. What was going on? Traverse Town had always been so peaceful – when had a gang like this come? I crossed into the alley and made a run for the Third District – but at that moment, another one of those guys appeared right in front of me. And by appeared, I mean, _poof!_ Here I am! It was totally scary. And I don't scare easily.

I skidded to a halt and tried to rush back, but the two evil guys who had cornered me earlier were standing there, their eyes very menacing.

"Just make it easy for yourself," growled the first one, stepping forward. "Give up the chase, boy."

I glared at him. "No!" I snapped. Like I had any choice. They had me cornered in an alley.

But then…the strangest thing happened. Stranger, even, than guys appearing out of thin air wearing clothes over their mouths and noses.

I felt a force coming up through my shoes, immobilizing me. I gasped, terrified, and to be honest my first thought was _Are they using their stunning rays on me?_ Probably not the most intelligent thing I could have said, but not a lot of people have been in my situation.

And then, without warning, what looked like a huge, egg-shaped dome completely covered me. It was clear, I could see through it, could see the shouts of the guys who were trying to kidnap me – obviously, they hadn't planned this. I screamed in terror as the egg thing sank directly into the ground! I'm serious – like it was mud. I had never been so afraid. I felt consciousness seeping away, and I fell into blackness.

XXXX

When I awoke, the first thing I thought was that those weird guys wearing the masks had captured me. I jerked, trying to get up, but the pain in my back was pretty bad. I hadn't even opened my eyes yet. How very clever.

Slowly, slowly, my eyes opened. I was lying on the bare ground – not the pavement of Traverse Town. Looking around, I saw that I was in a grassy plain that spread for miles and miles. The sun was out, but the sky was cloudy. That was weird – hadn't it been nearly nighttime? And I was sitting on a huge tree root. No wonder my back hurt so much.

Gingerly, I climbed to my feet. Hurt like hell, but at least I was alive. Swallowing, I realized just how much trouble I was in – where was Traverse Town? Where had those guys got to? How did I get here? And – where am I?

I almost panicked. My parents must be really worried, I thought bitterly. How, how, how did I get here?

"Hey!" I shouted to the sky. "I want to go home!"

Okay. Not brilliant, I'll admit, but I was desperate. There was no answer. Not that I expected there to be, of course. I decided that maybe I should start looking for the nearest town. Maybe I had just been blasted to the outskirts of Traverse. Maybe.

But as soon as I had taken a step forward, one of the things I certainly didn't want to see appeared in a blink in front of me – one of the evil guys in the green masks.

"Thought you could get away, did you?" he sneered.

I tried to think of some clever retort, but then a bunch more of them appeared, forming a circle around me.

"You can't escape now!" crowed a woman.

I knew that I was done for now. These guys wanted me pretty bad for some reason. I glared defiantly at them and cried,

"Why do you need me? There's nothing special about me!"

To my surprise, the people laughed. "Of course there is," one of them chuckled, and he stepped out of the circle to grab me.

_WHACK!_

Both of us – the evil guy closest to me and me – jumped when one of his guys fell to the ground with a thud. A bloody lump was on the back of his head. Standing there, holding what looked like a long, wooden stick, was a boy.

He looked a bit older than me, maybe fifteen. He was very tall and thin, that was for sure, and didn't look like he could have done such a spectacular blow to that guy. The kid had neat dirty-blonde hair and unusually hazel eyes, and he had sharp features. Right under his left eye was what looked like a lime-green tattoo with a black circle in the middle. I had no idea what that was about.

He was wearing a dark green, high-collar jacket with long sleeves. I could see a plain green shirt underneath. However, on that jacket, he wore what looked like tear-shaped metal objects on his shoulders and wrists. I didn't understand what they were for. Around his chest was a black sash with slits down the middle. I guess that they had different kinds of weaponry in there.

His pants were of a taupe color and rather baggy, and had a little yellow chain feature by the pockets. I noticed that on the front of his ankles, he wore the same tear-shaped metal thing. His shoes were a light blue color and I saw that they had tiny spikes in the front and back for better traction.

I stared at him. Even though this guy had managed to take out one of them, there was no way he could defeat this entire group. I watched, amazed, as his hazel eyes glared at the evil dudes around him, and without warning, struck with the wooden weapon.

It was incredible. This kid swung the weapon expertly, hitting the guys in masks with remarkable strength. Two of them ran forward, brandishing a dagger, but he swung the stick forward, tripping one of them. The other one fell over his partner and jerked when he aimed a blow at his head. Even more incredible was that the kid never seemed to tire at all, even when he was facing foes like this. He was obviously military-trained, and soon I came to realized what the tear-shaped objects were for – whenever a blow was aimed at him, the kid would raise the one on the back of his wrist, blocking it, and attacking with the weapon.

At last, all of the enemies were bleeding and lying sprawled on the ground. I watched in amazement as they disappeared in an instant.

The dirty-blonde-haired kid put the weapon in a holder in the back of his sash, turned to me, and said, "Are you all right?"

I nodded, too shocked to speak.

"My name is Torl Hurn."

Torl? I thought. Interesting name… "Er, hi there," I said awkwardly. "I'm –"

"Kyter Zelek, I know," he interrupted.

I stared. "Zelek? No, no, it's Kyter Kiodove."

The kid…Torl…shook his head. "You do not know yet," he said mysteriously. His expression remained very serious. I wondered if this guy was even capable of smiling. "Do not worry, Kyter – everything will be revealed to you. We have been expecting you."

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I hope this chapter was good. This story will probably be a long-running fic, so be warned. And no, those evil guys, as Kyter described, are not Organization XIII.

I really like reviews!


	2. Keyblade Master

Destiny Keys

Chapter Two – Keyblade Master

By Glacierclaw

I stared at him. "E-expecting? Me? But how could you –"

"We need your help, Kyter," said Torl.

Like that cleared things up. Torl glanced around, looking for more of the bad guys, but there was no one else around. But still, Torl said,

"We are not safe here. We must leave."

"Okay," I said. Fine with me. I wanted to get away from this place, if there were evil guys who could pop up anywhere on command. Definitely creepy.

Torl ran quickly. I struggled to keep up with him. Man, this kid was fast! I wouldn't like to see what he had done to get like this. I didn't complain though – to someone like Torl, it would be a sign of weakness to say that I needed a break. I was stunned to see that he stopped right in the middle of the field, waiting for me. Maybe he was nicer than I thought.

I caught up to him. "Look," I said with a touch of impatience, "can you tell me where we are? I don't really understand –"

"This world is called Veeadon," said Torl shortly. "Like I said, Kyter, this will all be cleared up. Just follow me."

Where? I thought, wondering what this kid was getting at. I stared at him as he bent down and touched a plain old rock. Just when I was wondering what the hell he was doing with some stupid rock, when he gave it a sudden twist, an enormous hole opened up right in the earth! Down it, I saw a steep staircase that turned out of sight.

Torl motioned for me to follow him. I hesitated.

"What's down there?" I asked.

The taller boy looked at me. "I am taking you to our hideout."

"Our? How can I trust you?"

"I could have just left you to the Key Catchers, but instead I saved you. Do I not need some gratitude?" He stepped down the stairs without another word.

I stared after him. "Key Catchers?" I called, and ran to keep up.

This was starting to get seriously weird. I wanted to go home, most of all. Now my parents must really be worrying. As I walked down the stairs, the tunnel became darker and darker, and I couldn't see Torl's tall, skinny frame in front of me. Just when I was wondering how much longer this would take, we rounded a corner and entered what looked like a normal home. I was relieved.

I stepped inside – and jumped about a foot in the air when the hole I had just stepped out of closed with a noise of moving rock.

Torl gestured at the place in the wall where the hole had once been. "Security measures," he explained. "The Key Catchers will never find us."

"Ah," I grunted weakly and looked around the house.

It was surprisingly neat, considering that a kid who had just beaten up a crowd of evil guys lived here. I appeared to be in a kitchen, with a sink and a table. It was surprising – hadn't Torl just told me we were on a different world? The floors and walls appeared to be wooden, and there was a large carpet under the table with an emblem on it. Two hallways led into different directions of the house.

I hesitated, and then said, "D'you – d'you live with your parents?"

Torl's eyebrow twitched. "No," he said shortly, and then added, "Come." He walked up one of the hallways.

I followed him without question. Torl turned a corner and entered what looked like a workout room – there were weights and punching bags and treadmills. No wonder this kid was in such good shape. But then I jumped again when I saw that another person – a girl – was punching one of the bags.

She stopped and looked up, mopping the sweat off her face. As soon as she saw Torl and me, her eyes widened and she broke into a smile.

"You found him?" she exclaimed, staring me up and down.

"Yes," said Torl. "The Key Catchers meant to bring him here, but I defeated them." He looked modest.

"Oh, I wish I was there…" I looked back at the girl and saw that she was staring at me with a look of disgust. "He's younger than I am. How can he be of any help?"

Well, thanks. Nice to meet you too. I glared at her and said, "I'm fourteen!"

"Really?" She eyed me reproachfully. "You don't look it."

This girl was only slightly taller than I was and looked very athletic like Torl here. She had shoulder-length, pitch-black hair that was brushed neatly. Some of her bangs covered one of her eyes, which were a brilliant green. She had a slightly rounded face and high cheekbones, and her stare made me want to run and hide.

She wore a slate-colored, short-sleeved shirt with a tight fit. On her upper arms and middle were what looked like large ties – they wrapped around her and were knotted at the end, trailing behind a loose end. On her hands, she wore long gloves, where the fingers were black.

Her pants were just below her knees and there was a golden belt around her waist. There were tiny string ties on the end of the pants too – only they were small, unlike the ones on her upper arms and middle. The girl wore high, gray socks and short green shoes with blue straps.

Obviously, this girl was no sissy. She was seriously fit like Torl, and liked to beat people up. She didn't like me very much so far, unfortunately.

"Kyter," began Torl, "this is Veelock Skiero."

She gave me a small smile. Well, at least she could do it at all, unlike her partner. "We've been expecting you."

"So I've heard," I shot back. "Can someone tell me what the hell's going on here?"

Veelock shot a glance at Torl. He nodded. She motioned for me to follow her, and she led me into what looked like a living room. Very strange. I sat on the surprisingly comfortable sofa as Veelock and Torl sat across from me. Veelock crossed her legs, looking rather cheerful, while Torl just folded his arms with his usual serious expression.

"Right, Kyter." He looked at me. "Your name is not Kyter Tiogove –"

"Kiodove," I interrupted irritably.

"Your name is Kyter Zelek. You are Sora and Kairi's son."

Just like that. Ouch. I stared at him, stunned. "Sora and Kairi's? No, that's not right. My parents are Decria and Nilor."

Veelock shook her head. "No," she said with a touch of impatience. "Those aren't your _real_ parents, Kyter. They adopted you when you were a baby. Sora and Kairi left you in Traverse Town –"

"Yeah? So where are they now?" I demanded.

Torl bit his lip. "We do not know," he said. "No one knows why they gave up their son and disappeared. I am sorry we cannot tell you that."

Well, I certainly liked Torl a lot better than Veelock, but their words weren't making since. Adopted? Me? It was absurd. But then, I realized, a glazed expression overcoming my face, hadn't I always wondered why I looked nothing like them…they were blonde, I was brunette…they were tall, I was only average height…And many other differences. Still, it didn't make sense that these weird people – Sora and Kairi – should give up their son…

"Who are Sora and Kairi?" I asked finally.

"Well," began Torl, "it started a very long time ago, Kyter. When Sora and Kairi themselves were fourteen." He took a breath. "His world…called Destiny Islands…was overcome by darkness."

"Darkness?" I repeated, not understanding.

"Heartless," said Veelock. "They're creatures that come the darkness in people's hearts. Everyone has darkness in their hearts – you, me, everyone. That's how they're created. It's a kind of magic too complicated to explain.

"A gigantic Heartless attacked Sora just when he was being blown off to a different world. He was given a Keyblade – a weapon to fight Heartless – to defeat him. Obviously, Sora won, and he was sent to a world called Traverse Town."

I gave a start. "That's where I live!"

"I know. Sora met many people there – people who would help him on his quest. They told him that he had been chosen to be the Keyblade master and defeat all of the Heartless. They also told him that a man who was studying the Heartless – Ansem – had disappeared along with his report. But all Sora wanted was to find his friends – Riku and Kairi."

"It took a long time," said Torl, taking over for Veelock. "They – Sora, and his comrades, Donald and Goofy – had to go through many different worlds, searching one after the other. They had to keep locking the 'keyholes,' which were the world's inner core that had to be sealed by the Keyblade. Doing that prevented the world from being overcome by darkness. It was not until Sora and the others came to a world called End of the World was when he became lucky."

Torl drew a breath. "He met Ansem there – Ansem, the man who had been studying the Heartless, had become convinced that darkness was the only choice. He tried to take over Kingdom Hearts, which turned out to be the only light, but Sora destroyed him. Soon after that, Sora met Kairi once again, but she was forced to stay on Destiny Islands until Sora returned. And as for Riku – he was locked inside Kingdom Hearts when Sora and the others closed it."

The light? I thought, raising an eyebrow. That sounded pretty stupid, to be honest. But Kingdom Hearts sounded like it was good. Nothing was making sense, and I had a ton of questions.

"A year later, where Sora was fifteen, he had forgotten what had happened in the past year and had to be put to sleep to recover his lost memories. There, he woke up in a place called Twilight Town. An old wizard called Yen Cid told him that the Heartless were back – and a new foe, called the Nobodies." Veelock swallowed. "Nobodies are created when a person with a strong heart becomes a Heartless."

Veelock paused, shifting her legs, and continued. "The Nobodies and the Heartless are enemies. Sora realized that he had to go on a whole new journey – because the darkness was back. There was a new group, called Organization XIII out there too, and finally, when they reached the world called The World That Never Was, they defeated Xemnas, the leader of the Organization and restored peace to the universe."

Torl gave me an odd look. "And now, nearly twenty years later, the remains of the Organization, the Heartless, and the Nobodies have banded together to created the group called the Key Catchers. They are so complicated that they have managed to become a human. Those are the men that attacked you, Kyter." A defiant expression crossed his face. "We want them out of here. This is _our_ world, Veeadon. They plan to take over it, use it as their home. Now." He leaned forward. "The only thing that has a chance at defeating them is the Keyblade."

"I don't have it," I mumbled lamely. I was pretty stunned about all they were telling me.

Veelock laughed. "Of course you don't. _We_ have it."

I swallowed nervously. I wasn't sure if I was ready to do all that they told me to do.

"Kyter, we were planning on waiting until your fifteenth birthday to bring you here," began Torl. "But the Key Catchers interfered. They brought you here early, planning to destroy you before we had the chance to show you the Keyblade."

"Kyter, come on," said Veelock, rising to her feet again with Torl just behind her. "We have to make sure that you really are Sora's son. We have to see how you react with the Keyblade."

"Okay," I muttered. I didn't feel a lot like speaking at that moment.

I followed the other two into yet another room. This one, unlike all the others, was a reinforced, stone room, where they were obviously protecting something very valuable in there. I stared, transfixed, at a magnificent, silver weapon that lay on two hooks in the middle of the room. It looked like a key, and it had a golden handle with a silver key chain. It gave a shiver as I entered the room.

"Keyblade," I murmured. Torl and Veelock watched me as I crossed the floor and stood in front of the weapon. I held my hand out and touched it – instantly, a warm, very good feeling of reassurance coursed through me. I felt like I could take on anything with this. The Keyblade reacted with the lightest touch, and looked as though it would deal incredible damage.

I looked back at the other two and saw that they were smiling – well, at least, Veelock was. But Torl's hazel eyes showed that he was excited.

I swallowed nervously, still brandishing the weapon. "Look," I began, a feeling of unease surging through me, "You've got to admit you're asking a lot. I'm just a kid. I can't possibly take on these –"

"So are we," interrupted Torl.

"Well – yes," I said impatiently, "but you guys just took me from my home. You put me on this team that's supposed to get rid of a dangerous group. I'm just a soccer player. I can't do this."

They looked confused about what soccer was, but Torl didn't comment on it. "You are Sora's son, Kyter," he said. "You look a lot like him, you know. Brown hair. Blue eyes. You are like Sora's copy. Kairi had more reddish hair and was very skinny. You take after your father more."

I couldn't think of anything to say to that.

I gave a start when the door opened – and a little boy no older than eleven entered. He glanced at Torl and Veelock, and then his expression grew extremely excited when he spotted me.

"Kyter!" he screamed. The little boy grabbed my hands. "You're here! You're here!"

"Kyter, this is my little brother, Gliec Hurn," said Torl.

It wasn't really a surprise that Gliec and Torl were related. The smaller boy looked almost exactly like him. He had neat, dirty-blonde hair and hazel eyes, and was also very thin, but lacked the incredible height that his brother had. Gliec had a bright, shining face and wore plain yellow gloves, a red, buttoned shirt with gold trim, and beige capris. He and Torl are such opposites when it comes to personality, I thought. I haven't ever seen Torl smile.

"The Keyblade's his, then?" Gliec demanded excitedly. "I knew it. I _knew_ it would work!"

I swallowed. I realized just how many people were counting on me. Not just Torl, Veelock, and Gliec, but everyone on Veeadon. I wouldn't put it past the Key Catchers to destroy them if given the chance. I honestly didn't want to do it, but if what they said was true…and I could hardly believe it was…then I had to fulfill my destiny. I was the Keyblade master.

I glanced at Torl. "What do we do first?"

"First, we have to go see an old friend of mine who lives in Tazilem – the capitol of Veeadon," he said. "She will help you get ready, Kyter. But until then, we must eat. I expect you are hungry."

My stomach gave a rumble. Yes, I thought with a weak chuckle, I am certainly hungry.

XXXXX

I know a left a few things out in Torl and Veelock's explanation of things, but please work with me.


	3. To Tazilem

Destiny Keys

Chapter Three – To Tazilem

By Glacierclaw

I stared at the food spread out on the table in front of me and tried hard not to look disgusted. Kyter, I reminded myself, just because this stuff's from a different world doesn't mean it's bad tasting. I had to keep reminding myself that, because this food did look a little weird.

"Gliec always prepares the meals," said Veelock. "He's such a good cook."

She ruffled the younger boy's dirty-blonde hair. He beamed happily and sat at one of the chairs, positively bouncing with excitement.

I chose a seat next to Torl and screwed my face up into a curious expression as I picked up what looked like a fork. In front of me was a kind of food that looked like a cross between a shrimp and a butterfly, and was completely black. I wondered how, exactly, I was supposed to eat this. Do I cut it up with the knife-like thing to my left, or do I pick it up and eat it? I glanced across the table at Veelock and saw her picking up a piece of the shrimp-butterfly thing and dipping it into a green sauce. I followed suit. When I placed it in my mouth, I must admit, it was extremely delicious. The sauce tasted like a spicy kind of Mexican dip, and the shrimp-butterfly was crunchy, but had a good flavor.

I smiled at Gliec. "This is excellent!" I declared.

Gliec's grin broadened. "Thanks," he said happily. "I caught them myself!"

"Really? Er – what are they?"

Torl's little brother didn't seem offended by what I said at all. "Witatytes," he said. "They live only around here."

"They're really good," I said, and turned to Torl. "So, can you tell me more about Veeadon?"

Torl finished up the shrimp-bu – I mean, the witatyte in front of him, turned to me, and said, "There is only one small continent on this world," he said. "It is called Quaylok. This area of it is mostly just plains that stretch for miles. That is why the Key Catchers chose their base to be near here."

I nearly spat out a bit of the witatyte. "Are you serious? Close by, here?"

"They have no idea that we live so close," said Torl. "They know that we have a vehicle that can quickly take us places – it is known as a bilu – so they believe that we are constantly using that."

I nodded. "Okay. How far away is this capitol – Raziglem?"

"Tazilem," Torl corrected. "And it is right on the eastern coastline."

"And who're we meeting there?"

"Her name is Bylawna Grever. She works at the Tazilem Military – "

I stared. "Military? Haven't you ever asked them for help against the Key Catchers?"

"We have tried, but they do not believe us," he said grimly.

"Stupid wusses," growled Veelock, stabbing the witatyte. "Sissy-ass –"

"Anyway, the only person who would believe us there was Bylawna," he said. "She claims that she has seen them before – they asked her to join them. But still, the Military just says that she is crazy, and threatened to let her lose her rank."

"What's her rank?" I asked curiously.

"Military gadgets," said Torl. "Since there is not a war right now, she does not get in trouble for giving some of them to us in the help against the Key Catchers. Not that they know about it," he added. "She has helped us a lot. I get most of my weapons from her." He gestured at the sash around his chest and the stick weapon behind it.

I blinked. "But…I have my Keyblade." I hoped that the precious thing was still back in the reinforced, stone room. "What else do I need for a weapon?"

"Gripping gloves, for one thing," said Veelok. She raised her gloved hand. "I have to use another kind of them because I fight with martial arts. There's padding in the knuckles, but a sharp stone in the front. They're very useful for dealing punches. And I'm sure that Bylawna can find something else for you." She pushed away her plate. "I'm very full."

"So am I," said Torl, staring down at his empty plate.

Gliec happily rose to his feet and began to pick up the plates. I was pretty sure that he hadn't understand a word of our conversation, or maybe Torl had taught him to keep quite while the older kids were talking. I couldn't understand how two people who were related and looked so much alike could act so differently. Torl looked like a walking arsenal, but Gliec was just a bubbly, happy fourth or fifth grader.

"Here." Torl threw me a bag of clothes. I caught them clumsily. "Put those on. They are ordinary clothes to be worn on Veeadon."

I pouted. "What's wrong with these?" I asked, staring down at my jeans and T-shirt.

"Anyone can see that they come from a different world, you idiot," snapped Veelock. "Now, hurry up. I want to see Bylawna again."

I crossed the kitchen and into what I hoped was a bathroom, grumbling. Everything was so different here. I locked the door securely and opened the bag Torl had given me.

To be honest, they weren't all that different from the clothes I wore now. The T-shirt was rather plain – it was just a pale teal color with light blue borders around the cuffs, but I really liked the pants. They were a darker blue, and had black, tiger-like stripes around them. I really hoped I could keep these. The only other item of clothing in the bag were two long sleeve-like things. I slid those over my forearms because I had seen one of the Key Catchers guys wearing it as a style. I stuffed my other clothes into the bag and walked out of the bathroom.

"The headband stays," I told Torl, pointing at the blue headband around my head.

He shot a glance at it, and shrugged. "That is fine."

Veelock stared me up and down, as she had when I had first arrived. At last she said, "Not bad." I stared at her, surprised. Wow, for the first time, Veelock had managed to pay me a compliment.

"Am I going? Am I going?" Gliec was saying excitedly, both hands clasped around Torl's arm.

Torl hesitated.

"Oh, let him come," Veelock told him. "You've been teaching him a lot, Torl. He won't forget it in a hurry."

The taller boy bit his lip, then said, "All right, you may come."

"Yay!" cried Gliec, and hopped up and down. I wondered if they constantly gave this kid sugar. Torl stared at his little brother, and after a moment, I thought he might smile – but instead, he just said,

"We must go. We are wasting time." With that, he hurried to another room with Gliec just behind him, leaving Veelock and me in the kitchen.

I turned toward the black-haired girl, gathered my courage, and said, "Why doesn't Torl ever smile?"

Veelock sent me a sharp glance. I winced, expecting an insult, but she said, "He has an…interesting past, Kyter. You'll hear the story some day." With that, she hurried after Torl. I hesitated a moment, then followed her.

XXXXX

"_Holy shit!_" I screamed at the top of my lungs as the vehicle – the bilu – jerked forward at an amazing speed. We were now positively cruising across the grassy plains.

Torl shot me an angry glance, a bit pissed that I would swear like that in front of his little brother, and went back to steering the bilu. But Gliec seemed not to notice. He had his head around the windshield, squinting as the wind blew hard against his face, blowing his sandy hair back.

When I had realized that Torl was driving, I had actually asked him, "You can drive? How old are you?"

And Torl had said, "Fifteen. In Veeadon, that is when all kids can drive."

And I'm all, "Wow! Really? I _love_ this world!"

I looked down at the little thing we were riding for the millionth time. It was the strangest vehicle I had ever seen – it had a very high windshield, like a motorcycle, with no doors or anything, and had a triangular shape with eight seats in all, all right next to each other except for the one in front, which was the one Torl was in. Gliec, Veelock, and I sat in the second row, with seatbelts fastened over our laps. But the most peculiar thing about this machine was the fact that it didn't have wheels – instead, it had a powerful, fiery thing underneath it that allowed it to raise like a hover car. Talk about cool! It also had another engine in the back. If the engine below got more power, we would go higher, and if the one behind got more power, we would go faster.

My Keyblade was at my side. Torl told me that there was a special, inner bond between the Keyblade master and his Keyblade, and that I could make it appear and disappear at will. I hadn't really tried this yet, because I didn't believe it would work, to be honest.

Anyway. We were driving – or, rather, flying – at breakneck speed, toward Tazilem. I had asked Veelock a million times if Torl was sure that he wasn't headed for the Key Catchers' base, but she assured me that he had gone this way a million times, and then snapped at me to stop worrying or she'd shut my mouth for me.

Torl released the power on the bilu and jerked it around – I let out a yell of shock when I saw that we were just on the edge of a cliff. He nodded toward a huge city in the distance. Just behind it was the vast blue ocean. I saw that the city was built very close to it. Man, I wouldn't mind living here!

"That is Tazilem," he told me. "The capitol of Veeadon."

"Why isn't it the capitol of Quaylok?" I asked curiously over the grumble of the engine.

"Because there is only one continent," replied Torl. "It would not make sense to put it as the capitol of Quaylok when there is just a single continent."

I didn't really get this, but Torl then kicked the bottom engine into a higher gear so that we rose up to nine to thirteen feet off the ground. I was particularly grateful for the seatbelt around my waist. Torl drove the bilu at a slower pace toward the city, but we still got there in no time.

We parked near the city wall. Once everyone had gotten off, Torl flicked on a switch. I stared as the bilu glowed a brilliant blue.

"Anyone who would try to steal that would be electrified," he told me. "It does not kill or knock out, of course," he added quickly at the look on my face. "But the thief would not want to try that again soon."

He looked down at the Keyblade in my hand and frowned. "Put it away," he ordered. "We cannot have people knowing you are the Keyblade master; we would get too much publicity."

"I – er –" I raised the silver end of the Keyblade, closed my eyes, and gave the handle a little squeeze. To my great surprise, it vanished in a cloud of white sparks. I grinned at Torl, who, as I expected, didn't smile back.

"Excellent," he said, and turned toward Veelock and Gliec, who were waiting, bored, against the city wall. "Let us go."

We entered Tazilen.


	4. Bylawna Grever and a Battle

Destiny Keys

Chapter Four – Bylawna Grever and a Battle

By Glacierclaw

I'll say this – out of all the weird things that had happened to me so far, this was one of the weirdest.

The capitol city of Tazilen was _huge_. I had never lived anywhere except Traverse Town, so it surprised me. I wasn't used to it at all. For one thing, there were many, many people. The thing I found most fascinating about them was what they were wearing. Apparently in this world, the weirder the style, the better. I saw one girl with what looked like a hair band around her ankle, and a guy with his hair into one retarded-looking point. That was the weirdest thing I could think of.

The buildings were very tall. Some of them read things like, _Tazilem Bookstore_ or _Zajo's Hair Shop_. There were bulletin boards with ads posted on them. I caught a glimpse of what one read – _Are Those Yuragos Messing Up Your Home? Call Us!_ I had no idea what a yurago was, but I guessed that they were some sort of animal.

I turned to Torl and asked something I had been wondering about for a long time. "Hey – Torl? If you don't mind me asking, what's that thing below your left eye?"

Torl immediately tried to rub it out, but had no success. The green rhombus with the dot in the middle didn't disappear at all. "It is of no importance," he said shortly.

Veelock stopped suddenly. "There it is," she said, pointing her gloved hand. "Tazilem Military Hall."

It was a large, boxy-looking building that I thought looked very ugly. Gliec grinned at Torl.

"I've never been here before," he said breathlessly. "Is it cool?"

Torl only shrugged and said to the rest of us, "Come on." The four of us entered the building, the glass sliding door allowing us to come in.

It was at a nice, cool temperature inside, and was basically very plain. The floor was tiled and there was a mat in front of the door. A receptionist desk was straight ahead, and there was an elevator to the left and several hallways along the wall.

Torl and Veelock walked up to the desk. An older woman, her brown hair draped over one shoulder, blinked and looked up.

"May I help you?"

"We need to see Bylawna Grever," said Torl. "She works with military gadgets."

"Oh – right." She pointed. "Her office is down that hallway and on the right, in door 3R."

Torl nodded. "Thank you."

We turned toward the hallway. I stared at Torl and said, "Her _office_? How old is she?"

"Fourteen," he replied absentmindedly, turning toward a white door with the print 3R on the front. Before I could ask any more questions, he gave a knock.

"Come in," came a female voice from inside. Torl opened the door.

The office was rather small, but there were all sorts of interesting items in the shelves. There was a girl sitting at the desk, doing paperwork. She brightened when she saw the four of us enter, and quickly walked over.

"Torl! Veelock!" she exclaimed happily. "And who are _you?_" she added kindly to Gliec.

"I'm Torl's brother," he replied. "Gliec Hurn."

The girl – Bylawna – laughed. "Of course you are!" she said. "You two look so much alike." She grinned at Torl, and then caught sight of me.

"And who – " she began, but then stopped abruptly. "Oh my goodness, you must be Kyter! The Keyblade master!" She beamed at me. I blushed.

"Er – yeah," I said awkwardly. "That's me."

Bylawna Grever had long, blonde hair that she wore in two braids and her eyes were a deep blue. She reminded me a bit of Gliec, with his always-cheerful attitude. She was slightly shorter than I was and was quite thin.

She wore a small blue tank top, and on both her upper arms was a thick blue band. She wore fingerless gloves, another shade of blue, that had black wrists and lines to each of the fingers.

Bylawna wore moss-green capris and a string belt around them. The end of it hung all the way below her knees. Her shoes were like boots, high and thick, with a zipper. Just by looking at Bylawna, I thought that I could have a better friendship than I could have with Veelock or Torl.

"So!" Bylawna clapped her hands together. "What do need?"

"Kyter just got her a little while ago," said Veelock. "He needs items for battle."

I sent her a sharp look. Battle? I thought nervously. Of course, you idiot, I thought, the Keyblade's a _weapon_; of course you're going to be _fighting_ people…

The blonde's expression grew serious. "Ah, right," she mused, and closed the door with a snap. "Don't want anyone to see that I've been giving you military stuff…it doesn't matter, really, I'm coming up with new objects every day, but don't go showing everybody what I've given you…now…"

She backed away from me, looking me closely up and down. Then Bylawna hurried to a shelf, pulling what looked like a pair of long gloves out and giving them to me.

"Gripping gloves," she explained. "It'll help you handle the Keyblade. Put them on, Kyter."

"Okay," I mumbled, and slid the left one over my hand. It felt very comfortable, and had a kind of material in the front that allowed a better grip on my Keyblade. There was a green emblem on the back of the hand. I pulled the other one on and brought out my Keyblade in a swirl of white sparks. I still didn't understand how I could do that, but I knew it would be better than to ask.

As I expected, the gloves allowed me to hold the Keyblade without letting it slide at all. Bylawna stared at me in amazement.

"Nice," she said, and stared at me for a moment once again. It wasn't long before she had shoved into my hands a pair of what looked like – "Shin guards," she said. "They're really useful."

I pulled off my shoes and put the guards over my socks. They felt rather funny to walk in, and took a moment to get used to.

"Anything else?" Veelock asked her. She, Torl, and Gliec were watching from the side of the room, looking bored.

"Yes," said Bylawna. "I don't think there's anything else I can give you, so…" She strode over to a smaller shelf that held tiny, electronic items, picked one up, and walked back over to me. She held out her hand, showing what looked like a tiny black microphone. "This is a link-phone. It'll send a message to everyone if you speak into it." She nodded toward the other three. "They all have one. All you have to do is press this little button – " She indicated a small blue button on the front – "and talk. Remember that everyone will hear it. You can clip it anywhere, Kyter, but preferably in a place where not a lot of people will see it."

I decided to clip it onto my headband, under a lock of hair. I thought that looked pretty cool.

"Thanks, Bylawna," said Torl. "This will really help us get rid of the Key Catchers."

Bylawna smiled. "I really hope you succeed," she said.

"We should go," said Veelock. "Sorry, but…"

"I understand!" said Bylawna happily. "You've got lots of enemies to defeat. Go on, you'd better hurry. I hate those Key Catchers – wanting _me_ to help destroy Veeadon – anyway, it was good to see you again. Bye, Gliec!" she added to Torl's little brother, who beamed and said,

"See you, Bylawna!"

"We shall see you again sometime," promised Torl. "You are a major help in this war."

Bylawna laughed. "Thanks, Torl." She grinned.

The four of us left, feeling happier. I was sure that nothing could possibly stop us from defeating the Key Catchers now, even though there were so many of them and only four of us, if you counted Bylawna. But maybe, if we defeated a few members at a time…

I was pleased to see that the bilu was still there, still brimming with the blue light. Torl switched it off (it only worked to his touch) and it wasn't long before we were speeding across the grassy plains. I was actually looking forward to introducing those Key Catchers to my Keyblade!

But something else was bothering me. "Torl," I said, "why are they called Key Catchers?"

Torl opened his mouth to respond, but it was then that several things happened at once.

A brilliant, white disk came hurtling across the grass and rammed right into the side of the bilu! Gliec let out a scream as the vehicle toppled over, throwing its riders to the ground. I landed with a hard thud on the ground and heard Torl landing just beside me. Teeth slammed together.

I sat up painfully and looked at Torl. He was on his back and breathing hard, but after a moment he sat up too. "Something struck the bilu," he said.

"Yeah, no kidding," I shot back. "Look, there are Veelock and Gliec."

Torl climbed to his feet and grabbed my hand, pulling me up as well. I saw Veelock holding Gliec's hand as she walked toward us. She looked pretty pissed off. Gliec just seemed worried.

"I am going to _kill_ whoever did that!" she exploded. "Torl, the bilu might be completely ruined. Look."

She poined toward the vehicle we had just been riding – it was on its side and smoking. I winced. How would we get back to the hideout now? It seemed impossible to look everywhere in these fields for the stupid little rock.

Torl stared at the bilu, then said, "I think it will be fine."

I glanced at him. "How could you say that? It's totally busted!"

"No, it is not," he insisted, then his hazel eyes widened and he looked past Veelock's shoulder – I followed his gaze and gasped.

About five tall, masked men were standing a yards away, looking very formidable. I knew immediately that these were the guys that had shot us down. I started to back away nervously. I hadn't even practiced with the Keyblade yet – how would we handle these guys?

Veelock, however, had different ideas. "Aha!" she crowed. "_There_ you are!" With that, she charged at the Key Catchers, her fists ready.

"Veelock, wait!" Torl stepped toward her. "Damn it," he cursed, and brought out what looked like a hand grenade from the sash around his chest, and threw it at the evil men.

He had a really good arm – it exploded right in the middle of it. The Key Catchers leapt to the side, hovering in the air, and I was stunned when Veelock leapt nearly ten feet to kick one of their asses. She kicked him hard in the shins, making him double over, and then elbowed the guy in the side of the head, and jammed a knee into his stomach. I stared, amazed, when the guy's hand was suddenly swirling with a dark, awful-looking substance! I gaped in shock. What was that about? He moved to punch her with the weird hand, but she jerked to the side and delivered a string of punches to his side.

And this all happened in midair. I suddely got the feeling that these people weren't normal humans. When they finally hit the ground, I winced when another Key Catcher struck Veelock in the back with a long whip of the dark energy – she collapsed, dropping to her knees, but I was stunned when she brought out her leg and kicked him hard in the knee. Now it was his turn to fall. Veelock then rammed a foot into his side, kicking him hard.

I looked over at Torl. He was fighting three-on-one with a strange weapon in the shape of a T – but the edges were curved upward. Like Veelock, he too used martial arts – with, of course, a mix of different weapons. He struck with the weapon that looked like a T, hitting a Key Catcher hard in the side. The man jerked, and Torl, taking advantage of this distraction, pinned him down with the waepon, the edges curled around his neck. Torl then brought out a device that looked a bit like a huge insect and placed it right between the man's shoulder blades – he jerked and twisted, like he was in terrible pain the instant it touched. I watched as Torl went to defeat the other enemies.

As for me, I was just standing there, watching all of this in stunned silence with Gliec beside me. Maybe they won't need me, I thought hopefully. Maybe.

Gliec suddenly gasped. I whipped around and jumped about a foot in the air when I saw none other than a Key Catchers member standing right behind me. His eyes crinkled and I could tell he was smiling under that green mask.

"Hello, Kyter," he said, and brought out what looked like a long, pointed sword.

I noticed that this Key Catcher looked different from all the others. His hair and eyes were very dark, but he was wearing a long, silver cloak. None of the others were wearing that. I stared at him in shock.

"You don't know who I am, do you, Kyter?" he sneered.

"So what?" I snapped. I looked down at Gliec. "Gliec – run," I hissed, knowing that Torl would take my head off if something happened to his little brother.

"Don't bother," snarled the man. "It's you I want." He glared at me. "My name is Master Oraton, Zelek. I am the leader of the Key Catchers."

I gave him a disgusted look, suddenly overflowing with anger and confidence. I mean, a second ago I was hoping I didn't have to fight. "_Master,_ is it? Well then, _Master,_ it'll take a lot to destroy me!" I brought out my Keyblade. The magnificent silver finish shone in the sunlight, and the gripping gloves I wore on my hands made it easier to control it.

Oraton laughed. "I admire your courage. This'll be easier than I thought."

Gliec backed away, sensing a huge battle. I didn't see him run – my eyes were locked on my opponent, and I felt no fear. The Keyblade was pointed straight at Oraton, and suddenly, he struck.

The sword lanced through the air, straight toward my chest. I winced when I saw that the tip was covered in the dark energy, and there was a black blur as it shot at me. I swung the Keyblade. It hit on the blade of the sword with a loud _clang_, blocking it. I then swept it away and quickly slashed – but I was too slow - he jumped backwards and flicked his hand as though trying to get a fly off of it – it was suddenly covered in the same black susbstance.

I didn't have time to think as he shot his hand forward. I could see the blinding light coming from it and I knew that this was what had hit the bilu – but I jumped, nearly twenty feet into the air! It was incredible, and I knew it must have been the Keyblade's power giving me stength. I shot down toward Oraton, who looked stunned and angry, at a breakneck speed.

He brought his sword up and blocked me. I kicked him hard in the shins and he recoiled, and that was when I hit him with the Keyblade square in the chest – and it made a loud banging noise.

I blinked. My first thought was that he had rockhard abs, to be honest – but then he pulled back his cloak and showed me a sliver of armor over his waist.

"Nice try," he sneered, and slashed the sword.

I screamed as it cut my shoulder – blood seeped out from the wound. I blocked with the Keyblade as he made to slash me again, but his stength overpowered mine and I was blown back. I leapt to my feet and slashed the air – close to his face.

Oraton shrieked in anger as the green mask was ripped away. His nose and mouth were finally revealed – how amazing – but something else was too. Right under his left eye was a green rhombus with a dot in the middle – the same mark Torl had.

I stared in shock. Oraton glared at me. I was stunned when his sword vanished and he disappeared in an instant, leaving me utterly confused. Then, realizing that the others were still in danger, turned toward where I had last seem them fighting.

But the last of them were disappearing in a blink. Torl and Veelock turned around and ran up the hill toward me.

"What happened?" demanded Torl.

I glared at him, not forgetting what I had seen under a Key Catcher's mask. "I fought the leader of the Key Catchers," I grumbled.

"You _fought_ Oraton?" exclaimed Veelock, looking extremely jealous.

"Yes," I growled, "and I ripped the mask off his face."

Torl took an intake of breath very quickly. Veelock shot him a quick glance and looked away – and Gliec, who had come to join us while I was talking, was staring at the ground. I got the impression that I was the only one who didn't know about this.

"Can you explain to me why you have the same mark that the Key Catchers do?" I demanded of Torl.

"I – I used to be in that group," he muttered. "And so did Gliec."

"Why doesn't he have that symbol?"

"I can explain once we get back," Torl said.

I scowled but didn't say anything as we walked toward the bilu, which had stopped smoking. Torl pushed it over so that it was flat on the ground again and did a check-up on it.

"It looks good," he said, running his finger along the pipes on the bottom, checking for holes. "The smoking was probably just caused from a shift in one of the valves…anyway, we'll get back to the hideout now."

Veelock looked up at me. "Yeah, Kyter, that cut on your shoulder looks pretty bad."

I had barely noticed it. Maybe it had to do with how I was in such a bad mood, and my adrenaline was spiked from my first battle. I was amazed that I had come out of it still alive – and it was with the leader of the Key Catchers too! Maybe, we had a chance to defeat those guys after all.


	5. Torl's Story

Destiny Keys

Chapter Five – Torl's Story

By Glacierclaw

"So? Am I ever going to hear what the hell that mark means?"

The four of us were back at the hideout. I'm not really sure why we call it a hideout when it's so much like a home, but then, if you have to press a flower to get into it, I suppose it would be 'hidden.' By then, the sky was dark outside. I had plopped down on the couch – at least, I think it's a couch – and was glaring at Torl.

He ran a hand through his dirty-blonde hair, looking very hesitant. At last, he said, "First, you must hear what the Key Catchers are about." He sat on the couch opposite of me. Veelock sat on the floor and began to stretch – like those karate people do before a session.

Gliec was tending to the cut on my shoulder. Normally I would have told him to buzz off, that I could do it myself, but at the moment I was too pissed off to care. He was busy putting some strange creamy crap on it before he would wrap it with a white cloth.

Torl began to speak. "In the Key Catchers, when a child turns ten years old, he or she is sent to the camp where they learn how to fight and protect themselves for two years. It is not a nice way to spend two years." His eyes glinted and I realized I was hearing the story of why Torl never smiled.

"Our family used to live here," continued Torl. "In this house. But the Key Catchers found us. Of course, it was above ground back then," he added. "This is just hideout mode. Anyway, our mother sold us out. She had been a member of the Key Catchers from the start. We were forced into the group against our wills. But when my father – Kulen Hurn – tried to escape, Oraton caught him. He killed him himself."

I drew a quick intake of breath and glanced at Veelock. She was staring at nothing, doing a sort of stretch everyone would call the 'butterfly.' I turned to Torl and said, "I'm sorry."

Torl shrugged. "It was a long time ago. I was eleven. By then, I had realized that the Key Catchers were very evil and would kill to get what they wanted. I was still in the camp, and during all this, my mother was taking care of Gliec, preparing him for the camp.

"I knew I had to escape. I also knew I had to defeat the Key Catchers. The only thing that they feared was the Keyblade and its master – and the Keyblade master had disappeared while the Keyblade was locked up in a room. When I was thirteen, a year out of the camp, I stole the Keyblade, took my little brother, and ran from the Base."

Torl took a breath, and continued. "We found this old house. It had not been used in about five years, but we managed to make it habitable again. We put the house in hideout mode and started to figure out how we would get the Keyblade master to this world."

The taller boy glanced at Veelock. "That is when I met Veelock." From the floor, she grinned. "She was traveling from Aratare and just happened to walk across the ground which held our house. I honestly thought that she was part of the Key Catchers, and so I went to attack her."

Veelock laughed. "I kicked his ass."

"You did not," snapped Torl. "We declared it a draw. Both of us were so talented that there was no point in continuing the match. Even so, I was still cautious. I asked her what her name was, and she told me. I then asked her if she was in league with the Key Catchers, and she said no. Veelock then asked who the Key Catchers were, and I explained how horrible they were. Veelock was fascinated and asked if she could help. I knew that she would be a great addition to the war against the Key Catchers."

"Yeah," said Veelock proudly. "My mother – who lived in Aratare – told me that there was a great destiny waiting out there for me, and all I had to do was find it. It took such a long time – I'd been practically all over Veelock before, well, destiny called – I was attacked by Torl." She laughed again. "It was pretty funny, to be honest. I was on my way to Parutan, actually. And since then, we have been working on a complicated force that would bring you to our world."

I swallowed. That was one hell of a story. "Okay," I said slowly. "What do you mean by 'force?'"

"This world has many forces," said Torl. "And one of them just happens to include pulling people from one world to another. It takes a long time to figure out how to perform, however."

I nodded, even though I still didn't really get it. "Then what's that mark below your eye?"

"It is called a Night Mark. It signifies that a person is a member of the Key Catchers." No crap, I thought. "A person gets it as soon as he or she begins training in the camp. Since Gliec never started, he never received his. However, to wear it with a cloth over it says that you are an active Key Catcher – which means that your powers that come with being a member are unleashed. I never wanted these powers, so I do not cover up the Night Mark."

"Won't the powers help?" I asked.

"No, because though they are force powers that can be useful, they cannot be directed at another Key Catcher. Oraton used a sword to kill my father," he added before I could ask. "That had nothing to do with the Key Catcher's power."

"Okay," I said, nodding slowly. "Here's another question for you: if you were part of the Key Catchers, then how would you be able to defeat, like, ten of them so easily?"  
"You must understand that there are very, very few children in the Key Catchers so far," he said. "If a child learns how to spar at a young age on this world, they will be an expert at martial arts." He ran a hand through his hair again, looking embarrassed. "I graduated early from the camp. It also might be that using your physical powers alone is more powerful than the powers that the Key Catchers have, but they fail to understand that because they believe that the powers will make them special."

I stared at him, lost for words. At last, I said, "Torl…I'm really not sure that I can do this."

He looked up quickly. "Why?"

"Well, like I said earlier – I'm just a kid. I have no proof that I'm Sora's son."

"You handle the Keyblade," said Veelock. "Only the Keyblade master – as long as he is in the same world – can weild the Keyblade."

"Okay, so say I am Sora's son – saving Veeadon is a lot of pressure. I mean, I don't know these people at all. So why should I worry about them?"

Torl's eyes flashed. "The Key Catchers chose Veeadon because it is small and easy to take over," he said. "Once they have the entire people of Veeadon under their control, do you really think that they will leave all the other worlds alone? Including yours? Traverse Town?" He shook his head. "They will not stop until all the worlds are theirs. Now do you understand?"

I gulped. "Yeah," I mumbled. Wow, I thought, I had no idea that this was so serious. Not only do I have to save Veeadon, I have to save the universe! I shivered. How would I ever do this?

I have to get home, I thought suddenly. It's the only way to escape from this fate. But even if I do get home, it won't be there for very long. The Key Catchers will destroy it. And Torl and Veelock will just keep bringing me back.

So I had to do this no matter what, even though I didn't want to at all. But then, I realized, imagine just how famous I'd be! If I succeeded, I'd've saved the freaking galaxy. I'd be a hero! I smiled at the thought.

I let out a long sigh. "Oh, all right," I said. "I'll do it."

"Good." Torl stood up. "That settles that."

Gliec finished wrapping the cloth around my shoulder and stretched, yawning. "I'm tired!" he exclaimed. "When do we get to go to bed?"  
"Right now," said Torl. "I would think you are tired, Kyter."

I yawned too. Now that I realized it, I _was_ exhausted. I looked at Veelock, who was just climbing to her feet, and said, "Where do I sleep?"

"On the couch," she replied sheepishly. "Sorry. We don't have an extra bedroom."

"Oh – that's all right," I replied, just happy that Veelock was being nice to me. Maybe she was in a good mood because of the story Torl was just telling – about how they met.

Veelock threw me a blanket and a pillow. "Here," she said as Torl and Gliec walked out of the room. She grinned. "Nighty-night," she teased, and turned out the lights.

I lay awake for several minutes, under the surprisingly warm blanket Veelock had given me. I felt incredibly sorry for Torl and Gliec – their father was dead and their mother was a traitor. And if Gliec had gone to that camp too, would he be just like Torl? Emotionless and never happy? Maybe Torl used to be just like Gliec, I thought, but until he went to train, he completely changed his personality.

It was too confusing to think about and I was too tired anyway. And it was hard to believe that just hours ago, I had arrived in this world. I yawned, rolled over, and fell asleep.


	6. An Unexpected Visitor

Destiny Keys

Chapter Six – Unexpected Visitor

By Glacierclaw

Day two on Veeadon.

I got up early the next day and threw my clothes in the laundry, and then showered. You'd think that this world – with its advanced technology and all – would be so much different from where I came from, but really, it wasn't different at all. A house was like a normal home. Cities were like regular cities. I had to ask Torl about it.

Later that day, I found him inside the training room where I had met Veelock. Gliec was there too, holding the wooden stick that Tork usually fought with and sweating. His older brother was trying to teach him how to spar. It was kind of sweet, in a way.

Gliec landed on the ground in a heap. He stared at his older brother and let out a huff of frustration. "How am I supposed to see an enemy when they're behind me?"

"You can tell," replied Torl. He was weaponless for once; the black sash was on a table nearby. "They have to cast a shadow, Gliec. They have to breathe. It merely takes practice." He reached down and pulled Gliec to his feet, and then caught sight of me. "Kyter – have you come to practice too?"

I let out a dry laugh. Me? Practice sparring? I was hardly experienced with the Keyblade yet. Gliec could probably kick my ass. Then, hadn't I managed to fight off that Oraton guy? I shook my head and said, "No, thanks. I wanted to ask you something."

Torl brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "Yet another question?" he said, and I scowled. Wise guy. "You have so many." Before I could reply, he continued, "What is it?"

"Well," I began, "Veeadon seems a lot like my old world. I mean, the civilizations are very similar. The only difference is that the technology is much more advanced." There were probably other differences too, but I hadn't seen much of Veeadon.

The sandy-haired boy in front of me nodded. "It is good you noticed that, Kyter. That is because Veeadon is Traverse Town's shadow, basically."  
"Huh?" It would take a lot to explain that.

"Look at it this way: whenever a world is created, a shadow of it also exists. This is like a copy in case something should happen to the original. Your world – Traverse Town – is much larger than Veeadon because your world is the original world. The people living on it are very similar, but the technology here in Veeadon is more advanced, so if something should happen to your world, Veeadon would already have a head start."

I swallowed. Did I get this? Sort of. Did I get most of the stuff that was going on? Definitely not.

"Okay," I said. "Could I, uh…could I see a map of Veeadon?" I was really interested to see all the different city names.

Torl nodded. "Yes. Follow me." He walked out of the door, Gliec right behind him. I followed him to the living room where I had spent the night. He opened one of the drawers in a cabinet and pushed into my hands a rolled-up piece of lamenated paper.

I slowly unrolled it and stared at the map, with Gliec leaning over my arm to look as well. It was very interesting. The map showed a close-up view of Quaylok surrounded by blue water. I thought that the small continent looked a bit like a slug. Easily the largest landmark were the Quaylok Plains, which was where we were right now…and at the left of it, on the end, were the Tazilem Cliffs. Those were what we had dropped off when we were going to Tazilem, and the capitol was just on the other side near the water.

I won't tell you all of the names of the cities, because there sure were a lot. There were two lakes named after the city they were nearest, and the Quaylok Lake, the largest one there. Three forests and one jungle were scattered across the continent, and inside the jungle was a high mountain called Vawn Mountain, and right on the top was Vawn Volcano. The most peculiar thing I noticed about this thing was near the top right side of Quaylok there was the Irazon Desert, but in the corner below it was Glacier Mountain.

That was weird. A desert, and then a snowy mountain close by? Don't you think that's retarded? I turned to Torl and pointed that out.

"That is another difference between your world and yours," he said. "Landmarks can be irregular in location."

I ran my finger along the map. "There're roads connecting every city," I mused. "Hey – there's no road connect that city there – Vawn."  
"That is because the city of Vawn is a tribe of cannibalistic people who believe in different gods," he said with disgust. "They are extremely dangerous. The road there – " he pointed – "connecting Volker to Diazet is the most dangerous road in Quaylok because it cuts through a bit Vawn. Many people have been ambushed and taken prisoner where they are killed and probably eaten."

Well, I probably shouldn't have asked that question. Now I felt really, really sick. Gliec shuddered next to me. I didn't blame him. Wow, cannibalism on this place! That was pretty bizarre.

"Why doesn't the rest of the continent do something about these Vawn people?" I asked.

"They have tried," replied Torl. "Many, many times. But Vawn Jungle is completely populated by those people. Nearly all of the army that was sent was captured. The Vawn will leave you alone so long as you do not venture into their jungle."

Right, rule number one about Veeadon – don't enter Vawn. Otherwise a tribe of cannibalistic people will ambush you and eat you. Got it.

It was then when we heard a scream that made all three of us jump – and I recognized it too. Veelock! She wasn't the screaming type of girl, so there really must have been something wrong. Torl leapt across the room, grabbed a weapon, and we hurried toward the exit to the world above. Torl stood, the long, pointed weapon held at the ready, as he moved to open the door, but was nearly run over when Veelock streamed into the room, carrying a person in her arms.

"Whoa!" cried Gliec, moving aside as she hurried to the living room. "Veelock? Who's that?" He pointed at the person she was carrying.

Torl and I ran in after them. Veelock had set the kid on a couch and stood over him, fuming. Torl hesitated a second, then gave Veelock a soft poke.

"Who is this person?" he asked her.

She rolled his eyes at him. "This is Elicen Skiero, you idiot," she snapped. "My twin."

That wasn't hard to figure out. Elicen had pitch-black hair. It was sort of long for a guy's haircut – just above his shoulders. He probably had green eyes too, but at the moment, he was out cold, his eyes closed. I winced when I saw a long scratch down his neck and several other injuries on his body.

He was wearing a sleeveless, moss-green shirt with yellow borders, and a necklace with a strange emblem on it around his neck. I wondered what it meant, and made a mental note to ask Veelock about it. Elicen also had on almost elbow-length green gloves with black wrists.

He wore light blue shorts that went just below his knees, and high, pale green boots with blue straps. If this guy was like Veelock, he would wake up and start exploding. Perhaps not literally, but you know what I mean.

"Your twin?" I said to her. "Doesn't he live in that one place, uh… Aratare?"

"Oh, good, you do pay attention," was her snippy response. Bad mood mode. "Yes, my family lives in Aratare. But…what's he doing out here, on the plains? This doesn't make any sense…"

"The Key Catchers might have attacked him," Torl suggested, as usual the first to figure it out. Torl, the smart one, while little Kyter was always miles behind. "But it does not add up as to why he was here in the first place."

Veelock sighed and shook her head, shaking her shoulder-length black hair and staring at her twin. They did look remarkably alike. His name – Elicen – was pronounced Eh-liss-en. Not Ee-lie-sen. It sounded a bit like a girl's name.

It was then when he started to stir. He coughed slightly, and his eyes fluttered open. Yup, they were green, just as I'd thought. He looked around slowly, taking in his surroundings, and his eyes locked on his sister. "Oh. Hi, Veelock."

Whoa. That was probably not what I was expecting. If I were him, I would have started to freak out. Holy crap! I'm in an unknown place with unknown people around me! Let's all hyperventilate and run around in circles. Well, perhaps not like that, but you get it. But Elicen was cool. Weird.

He sat up, and scratched the back of is head, and winced when he found a painful lump. Elicen shot a glance at Veelock and said, "Unfriendly people you've got around here, Veelock."

She laughed. "Yeah, they sure are."

Elicen looked up at Torl. He must have liked quite formidable to the newcomer and said, "Are you one of them too?" He didn't seem scared, just curious.

Torl shook his head. "No."

"This is Torl, Elicen," said Veelock. "And that's Kyter, and Gliec." She pointed to each of us in turn.

Her twin nodded and gave us a friendly wave. "Hi there." I waved awkardly back. Wow, this guy was really calm. So unlike Veelock.

"Elicen, what are you doing here?" she asked, all business. "Where's Mirotel?"

"Mirotel?" I echoed blankly.

"My older brother," snapped Veelock.

Elicen let out a long sigh. "Well," he said, grinning and looking all proud, "Mother told me that great danger was going to come to Aratare, but she wouldn't say what it was. She just told me to find Veelock, and that she was somewhere near Tazilem, but on the plains. It was quite a ways to travel, but I had a bilu – or at least, I used to." He scowled. "I was attacked. These guys wearing weird masks over their faces surrounded me, and demanded that I join their retarded group. I told them I didn't want to, and then they started using really weird powers and fighting moves on me."

He looked at his shoulder. Another nasty cut was there. "Beat me up pretty bad, though…lucky you saw me, Veelock. But, I do have one question." He looked around at us all. "What the hell are you doing here, and why are you here with these people?"

That would take a long time to explain, but Elicen wouldn't trust us if we told him to wait. We told him everything – Torl and Gliec's story, Sora and Kairi's story, and my story. I just sort of stared at the ground when they told mine. It was sort of embarrassing. We told him about the Key Catchers and their goal, and our allies, like Bylawna. I honestly didn't think it was safe to tell this guy all of our secrets, but Veelock seemed to trust him. I had already started to like Elicen. He didn't seem like the kind of kid who would betray us.

At long last, we were done with the whole explanation thing. Elicen leaned back to absorb it all. He sat there for some time, then said, "Wow. This is a lot to take."

I laughed. "No kidding," I said. "I certainly didn't want any part of this." Elicen chuckled, and turned to Veelock.

"So, what're we going to do about Aratare?" he asked.

His twin suddenly leapt to her feet. It was quite alarming how fast she was. "Aratare!" she cried, just remembering. "We have to get there, _now!_"

Elicen blinked. "Would it be the Key Catchers endangering Aratare?" he asked.

"Probably," said Torl. "Aratare is a small town, is it not? The Key Catchers attempt to take control of the smallest town, and then work their way up."

Gliec tugged on his brother's shoulder. "Do I get to come?" he asked eagerly.

Torl paused, considering. Then, "You will be in worse danger if you go where the Key Catchers are going to strike next. They have no idea where you are; you will be safe here. And we can communicate on the link-phones."

I had almost forgotten about those, even though I had taken it off to wash my clothes. And I hadn't even tried tried it out yet!

Gliec pouted. I knew he really, really wanted to come, but he said, "All right, Torl."

"When will we leave?" said Veelock.

"When we are ready," was Torl's obvious reply. He nodded to Gliec. "You can help by preparing a meal. Remember – five people, not four."

Gliec nodded, perhaps less enthusiastically than he would have before, and hurried into the kitchen. I looked at the others, and raised my hand as though I was in class. "I have a question."

Veelock and Torl looked at me.

"How would your guys' mom have known about that?" I asked, nodding toward the identical twins.

Veelock folded her arms. "Our mother is what you would call an Enlightener. She can tell someone's future by just looking at them."

I'm sure my jaw dropped. "Wow!" I exclaimed. "That sounds awesome! Can she tell if we're going to defeat the Key Catchers or not?"

She smiled. "She knows it all right, but she won't tell us. It would be against the Englightener laws. Besides, she knows that if she told us everything, life would be boring. Honestly, she dislikes being an Enlightener, but Mirotel wanted to be one, so she's teaching him."

I wasn't so sure if I'd hate being an Englightener or not. So I said, "Could she teach me?"

"You have to be of Enlightener blood," was Veelock's response.

Oh. Well, she certainly killed that dream. It wasn't long before Gliec came back into the room, announcing dinner. That little kid was really fast! Either that or he had the food already ready. I didn't care; I was hungry. I followed the rest of the group into the kitchen to eat.


End file.
